That's not only myopic, it may also lead to delays that could put the state at risk of losing part of the money.

Under the terms of the stimulus, Louisiana has until mid-May to advertise and bid projects totaling $154 million of the highway money. Another $154 million must be bid by next February.

For those reasons, the Jindal administration said it chose projects that were "shovel ready" and for which there was a legitimate need. The list includes more than $91 million for two New Orleans metro area projects -- a new Interstate 10 interchange at Causeway Boulevard in Metairie and work at three interstate exchanges in St. Tammany Parish.

Chris Granger / The Times-PicayuneSpeaker Pro Tem Karen Carter.

But Sen. Ed Murray of New Orleans voted against the proposal. Once the Senate committee rejected the proposal, there was no need for the House members to vote. Speaker Pro Tem Karen Carter Peterson, of New Orleans, criticized it anyway, saying it did not include work directly in Orleans Parish.

The I-10 work at Causeway, however, will improve one of the city's main evacuation routes and provide jobs for New Orleans residents as well. And other roadwork is going on in the city from other sources of funding.

Lawmakers in north Louisiana, in turn, complained most of the money would go to areas in South Louisiana. But this region is where hurricane recovery needs have produced projects that are ready to go and for which there's no other funding.

Some lawmakers made no bones about their insular motivations.

"You couldn't satisfy me unless you put it all in my district," said Sen. John Smith of Leesville.

Politics doesn't get more apparent that that.

Gov. Jindal said if lawmakers wanted to rework the list, they should have immediately picked "shovel ready" projects to avoid delaying the state. He must ensure the eventual list is limited to work that meets that criteria and is legitimately needed.

For their part, lawmakers need to look at the big picture. Expecting an emergency stimulus plan to cover every district is unrealistic. Louisiana will pay a heavy price if parochialism prevents us from using these funds and from providing the jobs and new roads they would pay for.